With the Stanley Cup in its hands, the Boston Bruins have many roster moves to consider. Defenseman Tomas Kaberle is one of the few with high priority. Although, that priority might be moving his rights. On Tuesday, the Bruins sent out an email to all teams in the league saying that Kaberle’s negotiating rights were available via trade.

The Bruins have those rights since he is currently signed to the team until Friday, when he will become an unrestricted free agent. So if all goes to plan, Kaberle’s bags will be packed and headed out of Boston by the end of the week.

Kaberle’s time in Boston has been short after arriving in a trade deadline deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who received Joe Colborne, a 2011 first round pick and 2012 second round pick.

Kaberle played a total of 24 regular season games and 25 playoff games. In the regular season he had one goal and eight assists. In the playoffs he had zero goals and 11 assists.

Analysis

To say he wasn’t what the Bruins thought he was is an understatement. Boston thought it was getting the best passing defenseman in the league and a solid contributor on the powerplay. While he did pass well, he didn’t help the powerplay at all. He could be one of the reasons why the team struggled with the man advantage, but it wasn’t the fault of just one player.

The Bruins had been trying to get him for years, but at 33 years old, he was an aging veteran on a fairly young team. There’s no doubt his leadership in the locker room and on the ice helped the younger players with the result of winning one of the largest prizes in all of sports. Sure, his time on the ice was frustrating and not what most fans expected, but it was his leadership and veteran playing style that helped the team in the end.

Where will Kaberle land next? No clue, but he will still be a solid contributor on any team. No, he won’t put up 50-60 points again, but he is able to create plays and be a solid team player. As far as Boston knows it, his time is done in Beantown and fans can thank him for helping bring the Stanley Cup home.